Deuterostome Endomesoderm Specification: Insights from Hemichordates

我们自己的门，脊索动物的进化起源，在过去的200年里一直是一个激烈争论的话题。尽管这个问题引起了广泛的兴趣，但从这种激烈的研究审查中几乎没有达成共识。最近我们对与脊索动物密切相关的动物群体之间关系的理解取得了进展，以及分子遗传学的技术进步，使这个关键问题在实验上更容易处理。这项工作调查了一门称为半足动物的发育生物学，这是与脊索动物最密切相关的群体之一。方法：本课题研究中胚层和内胚层是如何在这个门中形成的。中胚层是一个组织层，它产生了我们自己门的许多关键创新，如骨骼和相关的复杂肌肉组织。内胚层产生了我们复杂的肠道和相关的腺体。预期结果：研究在脊索动物内胚层和中胚层的诱导和定型过程中具有保守作用的基因的作用，将有助于重建这些组织层的早期进化，以及它们如何被修饰和多样化，以产生定义我们门的关键形态结构。对参与内胚层和中胚层发育的基因网络进行比较研究，将进一步深入了解它们在脊椎动物中的功能。更广泛的影响：该项目将涉及芝加哥大学本科生和研究生的培训和参与。PI和研究生将在广泛的机构和内部会议上展示结果。

Introduction: The evolutionary origins of our own phylum, the chordates, have been a topic of intense debate for the past 200 years. Despite broad interest in the issue, little consensus has emerged from this intense research scrutiny. Recent advances in our understanding of the relationships between the groups of animals closely related to chordates, and the technological advances from molecular genetics, make this key issue much more experimentally tractable. This work investigates the developmental biology of a phylum called hemichordates, which is one of the most closely related groups to chordates. Approach: This project examines how the mesoderm and endoderm are set up in this phylum. The mesoderm is a tissue layer that gives rise to many of the key innovations of our own phylum such as skeleton and the associated complex musculature. The endoderm gives rise to our complex gut and associated glands. Expected results: Investigating the role of genes with conserved roles in inducing and patterning chordate endoderm and mesoderm will help reconstruct the early evolution of these tissue layers and how they were modified and diversified to produce the critical morphological structures that define our phylum. A comparative study of the gene networks involved in endoderm and mesoderm development will give additional insights into how they function in vertebrates. Broader impacts: This project will involve the training and participation of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Chicago. The PI and graduate students will present the results at a broad range of institutions and internally conferences.